Shoppers crammed Aldi supermarkets early on Thursday morning in a desperate rush to buy an energy drink massively popular among young people. The bottled Prime drink, which went on sale for the first time for £1.99 in Aldi on Thursday, December 29, sold out within an hour with staff stunned at the lengthy queues from as early as 6am at some stores in Cardiff.
The drink has hit the headlines after it was created by Youtube stars KSI and Logan Paul, and when Aldi announced it was stocking the drink at its stores for a limited time only, shoppers went berserk. So much so that staff at Aldi at Western Avenue in Cardiff said all of the Prime drinks they had on offer had gone by 9am - within an hour of the store opening.
Staff told of how queues were already lengthy at 7am on Thursday morning for the pallet of drinks beside the till. One staff member said the shop had even received multiple phone calls on Thursday from people hoping they could reserve a drink when they realised the length of the queues.
Similar scenes of queues from the early hours have been seen across the country outside Aldi’s stores. Videos shared on TikTok show customers running into stores when the doors opened and carrying as many drinks as they could to the till.
A spokesperson for Aldi said customers were limited to one of each flavour due to high demand. "The viral hydration drink created by two popular YouTube stars, KSI and Logan Paul, is available to buy for just £1.99 in Aldi stores nationwide on December 29,” they said. “The drink will be a Specialbuy – and as with all Specialbuys, once they’re gone, they’re gone.
"The supermarket is expecting high demand so a purchase limit of one of each variant per customer has been set to ensure as many people as possible get the opportunity to buy the product. The drink, which is 10% coconut water, contains electrolytes and B vitamins and BCAAs, has zero sugar and around 20 calories per bottle. Aldi shoppers can choose from three different flavours: Blue Raspberry, Lemon and Lime, and Ice Pop."
By mid-morning staff were relieved that the stores had quietened down and normal service resumed. As fanfare grows around the drink, a verified Twitter page has been set up dedicated to "tracking" where the drinks are being sold, while some have managed to sell them online for hundreds of pounds per pack. A mother who travelled from Yorkshire to Scotland for the drink paid £250 for six bottles last week.
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